In this episode of the AAC podcast, we have adventure writer Cassidy Randall on to talk about her new book, "Thirty Below." Thirty Below is the gripping story of the Denali Damselsâa group of female adventurers who achieved the first all-womenâs ascent of Denali, also known as Mt. McKinley, the tallest peak in North America.
Everyone told the âDenali Damsels,â that it couldnât be done, that women were incapable of climbing mountains on their own. It was 1970. Men had walked on the moon; but women still had not stood on the highest points on Earth. But these six women were unwilling to be limited. They pushed past barriers in society at large, the climbing world, and their own bodies.
Following vibrant mountaineers with a lot of personality, like the stubborn Grace Hoemann and the brilliant chemist Arlene Blum, this book tells a rich tale of a community's set of limiting beliefs, and the women who dared to prove them wrong, despite disaster and risk on the expedition.
In the episode, Cassidy and the AAC dive into some of the experiences of these women that pushed them to achieve more and more in their mountaineering careers, the challenges of archival research, and capturing a climbing story that is too often forgotten.
Buy the Book
Learn More About Cassidy Randall
Learn More About Arlene Blum
https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2025/3/27/thirty-below-the-forgotten-story-of-the-denali-damsels
